Inclusive Learning – Giving Every Child Their Chance

At Solebay, we work hard to ensure every one of our pupils has the tools and support they need to be able to learn in the same manner as their peers.

Often inclusive learning is seen as something solely for children with SEND. While this is certainly part of it, inclusive learning is far more – it is a practice which includes everyone. 

We approach it by looking at the individual needs of every child at our school. These can be academic, and often are, but we also examine other factors such as independence, resilience and attention skills. There are often other barriers to learning to consider, including social, gender and economic issues. This holistic approach allows us to see the whole picture, and from there we are able to take positive action and provide the most effective support.

Pupils at Solebay learn in age-appropriate general education classes, regardless of their individual needs or learning barriers and we give them high-quality instruction, interventions and other support that enables them to succeed.  Teachers ensure that all pupils are included in effective learning and personalise their individual pathways to enable them to access all areas of learning.

As an example of the work we do, all the children are taught dance by a specialist teacher. These inclusive dance activities meet the needs of every child in the class regardless of their ability, with a focus on exploring and developing individual creativity, self-expression and physical potential. This helps pupils build their confidence and self-esteem, and there is a positive effect on social interactions, especially where pupils may not have a common spoken language. 

We also focus on ensuring pupils with SEND have experiences that support them in everyday life, so that they can feel valued in our community. We celebrate differences through daily practice as well as focus days and therefore pupils make an effort to include everyone and to treat everyone the same. 

It is unreasonable to expect children to do their best learning if their mental health is suffering, and research shows this is a growing concern among children and young people across the country. Covid in particular has caused many pupils to experience fear, isolation and anxiety. Therefore we remain focused on ensuring that we promote positive mental health and wellbeing, and that our pupils and staff have the best possible help available to them.

Much of the support we provide is done from within our school, however if we feel we don’t have the right resources to give the most effective support we will use external specialists instead. We also work closely with other schools in the Trust, regularly meeting to work together, share best practice and expertise, which can then be applied successfully to the individual schools.

By committing to inclusive learning we are supporting all pupils to become confident learners and well-rounded individuals equipped with the skills they need to build healthy relationships and make good choices now and in the future.